Summertime and the living is…noisy

dog-meeting

Ever have that one dog in the neighborhood that barks non-stop? Day and night? We’ve got one and I can’t quite pin-point its exact location but I’m so jones-ing for a ‘come to Jesus’ chat with its owner. This poor dog barks when I take out the recycling. He raises Cain if I’m working in the garden. He barks at 5:30 in the morning before the day’s cacophony begins and he barks at 12:30 at night. I’m guessing he lives outside, but with all the wooden fenced yards around, I can’t quite determine which house he lives in with exact precision.

My first reaction is to go up to the front door and (1) calmly and patiently talk with the owner about what can be done about the barking dog (I’m guessing the owner is so tuned out that they don’t realize it’s an issue to anyone) or (2) simultaneously want to take a bat with me and bash whomever answers the door and scream “would you please shut that &#@% dog up or find it a more responsible owner who will pay attention to it!” Sheesh people.

It isn’t the dog’s fault. I get that, yet still desire a bit of peace and quiet when I leave the house rather than that endless barking till I’m out of range. Yes, I realize that the weather has been hot and miserable lately. Shoot, I’d bark as well if it’d get me back in a cool house. But for the love of all that’s holy, why can’t you bring that poor creature in rather than let it suffer outdoors and disrupt the entire neighborhood? Why does he have to stay outside 365 days a year? Yup, that poor dog barks in the winter, he barks in the summer, he barks early in the morning and in the dead of night. I feel as badly for him as I do for those of us who must endure it.

Did you ever have a dog that barked incessantly and non-stop in your ‘hood? What did you do? Bonus points if you didn’t get arrested AND still managed to resolve the problem without the dog being punished.

Live, love, bark! <3

48 thoughts on “Summertime and the living is…noisy

  1. Neighbours of a client whose dogs I pick up for walks, have a small yappy daschund cross that yelps incessantly. And of course, being a wee dog, it’s not so much a friendly “Hi guys! Over here – come play with me!” call to the five- dog pack I’ve taken out my car for their walk. No, no no – it’s a definite ‘wee dog syndrome’ “What you @&$$##!! doing in my area?!! Come here and I’ll rip your chuffin’ throats out” typ of bark.
    I’m truly surprised nobody has taken out a noise abatement order. 🙂

    1. The city is a noisy place and I for one would hate for the dog to be the one to suffer. I’m keeping my eyes open for the owners so as to have a chat with them. I rather feel badly for the dog as his needs aren’t being addressed. 😢

  2. As much as I love dogs, I can’t take that kind of barking. I make an effort so my own dogs’ barking is annoying any neighbors. Luckily we do have a noise ordinance in my town, so it’s not something we have to deal with often.

    Thank you for joining the Pet Blogger Showcase. I wasn’t sure which post you meant to link up so I chose this one.

  3. I’m not saying it’s right, mind you, but many people in the South of a certain age group grew up with dogs who lived in the backyard their entire lives. The dogs were not allowed in the house at all. These folks – who were children and teens back then – didn’t know any different way of having dogs and cats. They played with, and fed, their pets outside. That’s just the way it was back then, especially in the more rural areas. Hubby was one of them. He was surprised to learn that my Kissy lived in the house with me. And I literally had to tell him that if she could not live in the house with us when we started our life together there would be no life together. He hemmed and hawed about it a bit, but it all worked out eventually (obviously). And he cried right along with me when we had to let her go to Heaven ten years later.

  4. The poor pup is in a miserable situation. The owner (NOT pet parent because pet parents would never leave a dog out 24/4/365) probably screams outside for it to “shut-up” several times a day. #Idiot We take our dogs out on a leash if our neighbors are trying to enjoy their yards. Bentley and Pierre love to bark at them but we don’t allow it.

    1. Awww, that’s very sweet for you to nominate us. We’ve been nominated before but have never posted the badges. Just knowing that people enjoy our posts is award enough for us but thank you-we really appreciate it! ღ🐾

  5. Yes we did have a trouble like that. A dog barked all night and mom lost her mind and with her loudest booming voice shouted (from our deck), “Somebody shut that *&%#@ dog up”. It got noticed and the dog was taken in the house. Now people are scared of mom and her potty mouth.

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

  6. A family across the street owned two dogs they kept outside. Even in Southern California, especially in the canyons, it can get really cold, down to 36 degrees at night. Continous barking ensued. How the owners slept through it is a mystery but, more importantly, it was so cruel to the dogs. Anyway, we ended up reporting them to animal control who went to have a chat with them. Dogs were moved inside at night.

  7. One of my neighbor’s dogs barks a lot, but, fortunately, my nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away, so the barking doesn’t bother me. LOL Tippy is great because she only barks if something is amiss. When she hears other dogs barking, she’ll usually look at me with a look that say, “Silly dogs. There’s nothing worth wasting my breath on.”

  8. Mom has several stories around barking dogs. One place she lived, there was a puppy in a pen at a neighbor’s behind her house. Cried all night, every night. She called the police several times. After they came, the pup would be quiet for a little while, then start up again. So, one night, she dressed all in black, snuck through the backyards, and…well, I’m not allowed to say. But the puppy was never a problem again. (No, she didn’t hurt the puppy!) Another neighborhood she lived in contained two inconsiderate neighbors. She went to the door of the house right next to us and the husband said he would get rid of the dog. Mom said, No! Just bring her in at night or something, since our bedroom window was just above where the dog was barking and my dad was threatening to sleep at the office. She never knew what they did (it was NOT bring the dog in) but she never barked at night again.
    The other neighbors were big-time red-necks. After Mom complained to them, the dog disappeared!

  9. An animal that never shuts up, I’ve never heard of one SQUAAAAAWK! Why the very idea of being annoyed at an animal that just wants to communicate is an anathema to me. SQUAAAAAWK. You’d actually ask a peep? SQUAAAAWK? That’s funny. SQUAAAAAAWK. SQUAAAWK, RWACK. Most animals are silent for the most part and don’t make too much noise too often. SQUAAAAAAAAAWK. Anyway I’ve never met one in my entire life. I asked the dogs and they said “if you want to find an animal that won’t shut up, look in the mirror”. So I did and I didn’t see anything unusual, SQUAAAAWK. Have I ever told you that the dogs are crazy? There was this time …..

  10. Back in Colorado we had a pair of dachshunds that lived next door and constantly barked at us whenever we were out in the garden or on the deck. They were pretty much left to their own devices in the back yard when the owner was at home, so it got annoying fast. One night she must have fallen asleep and left them out because they were barking non-stop all night long. Then one day we were out on the deck and they were barking as usual, so we just said “Shut up, weasels.” The weasels was our nickname for them. 😀 We didn’t realize their owner’s dad was out with them and he heard us. He apologized and must have told her because it may have gotten *a little* better after that.

  11. A blogging friend in England has this problem…RSPCA called, but to no avail…now the poor thing barks less – just resigned to its fate,
    The owners are a well known sportsman and whoever the current live in underwear model happens to be…I would contact the local rag and suggest he takes his dog with him to the matches…it might be better value for money for his team.

  12. Omgosh yes! We actually have one that has to only be a few houses away he is always barking..I feel bad for him..He HAS to be living outside for sure..
    Our dogs always perk their heads up wondering why their furry friend is barking all the time.

      1. I know!! I feel so bad for them…Why have a dog?? We actually live a couple houses down from a couple that owns a Husky (where we live it is hot and humid during winter months!!) and he lives in a kennel. The colder months may not be as bad..His owners were at least nice enough to hook up a fan inside his kennel :/..

  13. Rut roh….could be a Sheltie. They “work” 24-7. Dakota barks A LOT. He barks at garbage trucks, he barks when he hears someone (or another dog) in the hall (we are in a condo/apt building)…..he barks when other dogs are outside doing their business, he barks when the mail carrier, FedEx, UPS trucks come. He doesn’t bark ALL day incessantly, but he barks…………..sorry………..

    1. We know about sheltie barks but think this pup may be a bit bigger of a dog judging by the tone of his bark. I just wanna bean his owner; as for the dog I’d probably give a him a treat! 😉

  14. so many. There was one across the street who hated me coming out of the house in any way. I’m afraid one of the barking dogs in Tampa was my lab. She needed even more activity than I as a single working woman could provide so she would bark at the fence. I’d go get her but she did bark. When Tyler’s people go away he barks all the time, lonely.
    Then there are the pack barkers who egg each other on at the fence, who can bark the loudest and longest. Cole is silent… what a relief.

    1. Those ‘party line’ dog convos are the worst. Aside from the big offender in my neighborhood, there are a couple of dogs a few doors down the alley but they seem to have either gotten better about barking or are no longer left outside 24/7.

  15. Oh snorts!! I’m not even allowed in my magical backyard before 9AM or after 9PM…. oinks – as if my snorting would wake anyone up. But let me tell you about our rude hindrance in our hood. It’s a squawking rooster who does not know what time it is! It squawks ALL.OF.THE.TIME regardless if it is night or day. AND it gets in my magical backyard. It’s specialty is to squawk right outside my bedroom window and wake me from my beauty sleep. Anipals unite! XOXO – Bacon

    1. Oh Bacon…I know exactly what you mean. Roosters can be a huge pain when they can’t tell time. And to get into your magical backyard to nosh on bugs is unforgivable! Does he not know what crockpots do to chickens? 🙂

      1. I keep telling him that mom loves chicken and if she catches him he will become dinner. He doesn’t listen to me though. I need to get him an alarm clock. He is really interfering with my beauty sleep – snorts with piggy laughter. XOXO – Bacon

  16. Yes…. on the other side of our back fence. The homeowners were “less than friendly” so I reported it to our local By-Law enforcement people. They visited the dog owners and all went quiet. Sadly, the dog was simply kept inside more!

    Why does it not cross their minds that their dog is barking for a reason? Why do they not see that if they can identify the reason, there is a chance that it can be resolved? Why do they not see that a little effort and interest on their part, can create a more harmonious atmosphere for themselves as well as for their neighbors? Why are some people so “clued out”? Why? Why? Why?

  17. We have a park behind our house so you can imagine the walking traffic down the alley. Miley has a doggie door (she is smart enough to realize she can stay cool and still be annoying) so watches for walking prey from the comfort of the living room window. As soon as she spots her four legged enemy being walked along our fence line, she dashes through the house, out the doggie door and flies off the deck to reach the fence before the “human” rushes their baby past our house. Miley acts like she will take their heads off while sticking her little nose out the knot hole in the gate. I think the walkers have figured out that she is harmless and that it is a game because the same groups come by each day, sometimes twice a day. I think it annoys me more than anyone else! 🙂

    1. It’s good that you are so well protected. 😉 Sam reacts that way with our mail lady until I open the door to retrieve the mail, then he’s all…”ooh, ooh, it’s Cory, my ‘favoritest’ person in the whole wide world.” Dogs! Are there any creatures sillier? <3

  18. Some new dog-friends just moved into our apartment complex and they love to bark. (They are little and yappy.) They don’t bother Mom and me, since we just hear them when we are out walking, but their downstairs neighbor called the police. Yikes! I hope the little guys don’t get arrested. They’re too pretty for prison!

    Love and licks,
    Cupcake

  19. No it is fairly good here. Yes I do get barked at when I am out walking at 5:45am and again in the evening, but it stops as soon as I am out of range. I have a set route each walk so I can control my distance, and also I know where the dogs are, so I know where I am going to get barked at. I don’t mind and Benji doesn’t seem to bother much. I keep telling he’s good and has manners :o)

    1. Barking as a form of acknowledgment is fine, it’s that non-stop barking all day and night long that gets me. Clearly this dog is trying to communicate something (“I’m hot, I’m cold, I need some exercise, etc.”). It’s clear this poor pup’s owners don’t have any manners! They could take notes from sweet Benji.

  20. I feel sorry for this pups… some humans are just… arrgh! we have two barkers in our hood, the owner encouraged them to bark for all and nothing to make them to “good” house guardians… he is the greatest moron what ever walked on this planet and the list of the dogs/cats he owned during the last years is as long as route 66 :o(((

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